Miriam Zoila Pérez is a Cuban-American writer covering issues of race, health and gender. She is the founder of RadicalDoula.com, and was an Editor at Feministing.com for four years, during which time the site was awarded the Sidney J Hillman Prize for Blog Journalism. She's the Gender Columnist for Colorlines, and her writing has appeared in The Nation, Alternet, The American Prospect, MORE Magazine, Talking Points Memo and a number of anthologies, including "Yes Means Yes," "Click" and "Persistence." Pérez is the author of "The Radical Doula Guide: A Political Primer for Full-Spectrum Pregnancy and Childbirth Support." Learn more about her work on her website.

The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology now says that we should “let nature take its course” during labor. But that change could take years to go into effect, affecting pregnant individuals in the United States and abroad.

Doulas have increased in number and popularity in recent years. But as a whole, what are we working toward? The goal of having a doula for every birth may not be feasible. It also may not bring about the radical change we seek.

Two weeks ago the American Association of Birth Centers and the American College of Nurse-Midwives released the findings from a new study.The big picture finding is this: for low-risk women giving birth, birth centers are an alternative that provides a safe, supportive, and cost-saving environment in which to give birth.